In recent years, so-called hot-melt adhesives have been developed for various uses. Customarily, such adhesives are heated to a molten state and flowed onto surfaces to be bonded together. The bond strength develops upon cooling of the molten adhesive to the solid state.
Although hot-melt adhesives are highly desirable, there are certain drawbacks to their use. For instance, the adhesives are customarily applied by means of a heating tool such as disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,681,685; 3,443,059; 3,337,093; and 3,204,828. Since each of these tools employs an electrical heating element, the tools and the hot-melt adhesives are limited to use in environments where electrical power is readily available. Also, there are many applications, such as encountered by a homeowner do-it yourselfer, where hot-melt adhesives could be used but where the limited use does not justify the expense of an electrically-powered dispenser. Hence, a device which is capable of dispensing hot-melt adhesives without requiring electrical service is highly desirable.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,970,395, there is disclosed a hot-melt adhesive with self-melting capabilities. In brief, this adhesive comprises a pyrotechnic core surrounded by adhesive in stick form so as to be hand-held. Thus, when the pyrotechnic core is ignited at one end, it generates sufficient heat to melt the surrounding adhesive which can be flowed onto a surface for subsequent bonding. Although the self-melting adhesive stick has certain advantages, there is a need for an applicator capable of dispensing hot-melt adhesive in conventional stick form.